A blue and white porcelain bowl with deep rounded sides and a slightly flared rim. The outside is painted with a continuous lotus scroll, the blossoms linked by curling stems and small leaves, above a band of upright panels enclosing cloud scrolls round the foot. Inside, a scroll of leafy stems joins six flowers round the wall, and a double line frames a peony spray with leafy branches in the centre. The blue is strong and saturated, darker where it has pooled.
The glazed base carries a six-character Xuande mark, 大明宣德年製 (Da Ming Xuande nian zhi), written in regular script in two columns of three, in underglaze blue within a double circle. A reign mark gives the name of a reign; on its own it does not date a piece. Our guide to Chinese porcelain marks explains how marks are read. It was one of a pair; the matching bowl has its own page.
This bowl has been sold; please ask us about similar pieces.
Learn more: The Ming Dynasty · Xuande Emperor
